BusinessWire India
New Delhi [India], June 25: The Earthshot Prize, the world's most prestigious environmental award, and Alana, a Brazilian philanthropic organisation dedicated to defending children's rights and fostering their active participation in the world, today announced the expansion of their partnership to India, where The Earthshot Prize Awards Night and Summit will be hosted. The expansion includes the launch of a new programme to empower the country's next wave of environmental changemakers. Through the I CAN Earthshot Challenge, delivered in collaboration with Design for Change, children aged 9-17 will turn ideas into action, demonstrating how young people can lead the fight to protect the planet and restore nature. The initiative represents the biggest youth outreach in The Earthshot Prize's history.
The I CAN Earthshot Challenge will reach close to one million students through a nationwide programme delivered online and across more than 15,000 schools in 24 states. The Challenge will encourage children to identify environmental challenges in their communities and develop practical solutions. Working in teams, participants will identify a local environmental challenge connected to one of The Earthshot Prize's five Earthshots: Protect and Restore Nature, Revive Our Oceans, Clean Our Air, Fix Our Climate, and Build a Waste-Free World. Guided by Design for Change's Feel, Imagine, Do and Share framework (FIDS), they will develop creative solutions, take action in their communities and share their impact with others.
The finalists will travel to Mumbai this November to attend The Earthshot Prize Summit and Awards Night and participate in The Children's Earthshot, a dedicated programme that brings together young changemakers from around the world. There, they will have the opportunity to connect with fellow young changemakers, environmental leaders, and innovators working to create positive change in their communities. The five winners, one for each Earthshot, will receive a US$2,000 grant to help bring their ideas to life in their communities.
Commenting on the launch, Jason Knauf, CEO, The Earthshot Prize, said, "India's young people have the creativity, ambition and determination to help solve some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges. We are thrilled to launch the I CAN Earthshot Challenge and hope to inspire and support a new wave of leaders who can turn ideas into action for people and the planet."
Pedro Hartung, CEO, Alana, said, "For more than a decade, Alana has invested in initiatives that prove what happens when children are invited to participate not as beneficiaries, but as contributors and leaders. We have seen children improve schools, influence public debates and advance environmental solutions in their own communities. Supporting the I CAN Earthshot Challenge is a natural extension of that belief: that children are not only inheriting the future--they can help shape it today."
Kiran Bir Sethi, Founder, Design for Change, said, "Children have an incredible capacity to create change when they are given the opportunity to act. Through the I CAN Earthshot Challenge, young people across India will be encouraged to believe in their ability to make a difference and take meaningful action for a more sustainable future."
From 1st July, children across India will be able to access the I CAN Earthshot Challenge through the Design for Change website. The toolkit will introduce them to the five Earthshots and explore how each one connects to their own communities, guiding them through Design for Change's Feel, Imagine, Do and Share (FIDS) framework to turn awareness into action. Design for Change will work with teachers across 15,000 schools in 24 states to support participation, while children from anywhere in India will also be able to submit their solutions online.
The programme builds on the partnership between The Earthshot Prize and Alana, which began in 2025 in Brazil through Mini COP, a child- and youth-focused simulation of the UN climate negotiations that brought together children from across the country to learn about climate change, debate local solutions, develop proposals, and experience climate citizenship in a practical and engaging way. Selected participants also had the opportunity to engage with global leaders as part of The Earthshot Prize's Impact Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Building on the success of this initiative, The Earthshot Prize and Alana are now expanding their partnership to India, working with Design for Change to empower thousands more children and young people to become environmental changemakers in their communities.
India is home to more Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists than any other country, with seven Finalists to date, including four Winners. These include Takachar, whose technology converts agricultural waste into valuable bio-products while reducing air pollution; Kheyti, whose Greenhouse-in-a-Box helps smallholder farmers build resilience to climate change; S4S Technologies, which tackles food waste through solar-powered food processing solutions. Together, these innovators reflect India's depth of innovation and execution across clean energy, regenerative agriculture, waste management and air quality.
India is also home to the world's largest youth population, making young people central to this year's Earthshot Prize engagement ahead of The Earthshot Prize Summit and Awards Night in November.
The challenge was announced during The Earthshot Prize's Impact Assembly co-hosted with Bloomberg Philanthropies, during London Climate Action Week. It forms part of The Earthshot Prize's continued efforts to inspire and empower young people to help drive environmental solutions at scale.
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